“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:6

Paul wrote his letter to the Philippian church to encourage them and help them make sense of his imprisonment in Rome. I find it interesting that this verse, let alone the entire letter, is coming from a guy who is in chains. It probably doesn’t seem like God is putting His finishing touches on him. This imprisonment probably doesn’t seem like a “brush-stroke” from God. But as we continue to learn about Paul in the book of Philippians, we learn that Paul has big faith and he knows the eternal perspective behind his suffering. Paul see’s the purpose in a circumstance that might otherwise seem pointless to somebody else. Paul’s faith is such that he is "sure of this". He is confident. You would also learn in his letter to the Philippians that Paul doesn’t need to know the outcome of his imprisonment or how the rest of his life will transpire. His job isn’t to predict the future and neither is ours. All we need to know and have confidence in is that, as we hold fast to the gospel in our lives, everything we experience until the day of Jesus Christ are finishing touches.

The good work that began at the moment you received Jesus into your life is now being perfected and will be completed. Count on it. Everything we experience between that moment and the moment of Jesus’ return, are a series of finishing touches. We’re not the ones that began this good work, neither are we the ones who are perfecting and completing it. This is a God thing. God is developing a masterpiece in you in which his project is to make you more and more holy and more and more like Christ. God begins His work, he re-purposes our past, purposes our present, and He will complete our future. Everything God starts, He finishes. He doesn't leave us unfinished. This truth should give us great confidence and it should build our faith. But...

Why don’t we live this way? Why don’t we live out this truth in our lives? Because we allow ourselves to be held back. We allow ourselves to be manipulated by the things of the world at the expense of our relationship with God. For some, the finishing touches on their life is to get to a certain point financially, or to leave a certain inheritance to their grandchildren, or to have their dream house at a certain level of completion, or their career to be accomplished to a certain point. While these are nice things and not wrong in of themselves, we allow these aspirations to cast a dark shadow over our relationship with God. We make these aspirations the center of our lives. The truth is, none of these aspirations are going to matter when we die. They don’t last. All that will matter is whether or not you have a growing, personal relationship with Jesus.

What begins our path toward holiness is putting our faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross. In Christ, God has given us a flesh and blood example of what He wants to do in us. The life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate masterpiece. From the womb to the tomb, his life was marked by perfect obedience and undeserved suffering. In the midst of it all, Jesus had the eternal perspective. He knew that his sufferings were finishing touches of a work that would become the basis of our salvation. If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, then you are merely an empty canvas for a masterpiece that was never begun.

It’s easy for you to sit there and read this, and for me to write this. But it doesn’t matter what you read or what I say. All that matters is whether or not you believe it. Believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and it will completely rewrite your eternal destiny. Hold fast to the gospel in your life, and it will change the way you see everthing in your life and your walk with Christ. Period.